Which Wizard Let Michael Redd Get Off?

The Milwaukee Bucks game seems like it was ages ago. And when deciding which aspect of the game to break down, I was conflicted at first. Should it be what happened after Gilbert Arenas went down at the 7:12 mark in the fourth quarter, specifically, the 9-0 run that occurred in the two minutes after that?

Naw, why focus on the positive? This team will only improve if they continue to recognize and remember what went wrong. And with the Wizards, there’s usually a lot to choose from. What obviously came to mind was the 32 points scored by Michael Redd, his first 30+ point effort since January 16, 2009.

If I posed to question to you, ‘Who was responsible for letting Redd have his way on the offensive end, including him getting to the free-throw line so much, where he went 15-15?,’ you would probably say, ‘Randy Foye.’ And I would say, ‘You are a correct, astute observer of the Wizards, sir.’

Everyone is certainly happy that Foye has recently arisen from the depths or irrelevancy … probably not enough for Ernie Grunfeld to retain him after the season … but there’s a lot of season left and victories in the small battles are worth feeling good about. Still, Foye is a poor perimeter defender, and the Wizards have a plethora of inefficient perimeter defenders.

So, despite all of these foregone conclusions, I decided, what the hell, let’s break-down how Redd was able to get each of his 32 points.

1st Q, 9:15 – 3 points (basket And 1)

Foye not quick enough to stop Redd on a drive to the basket from the right, and there wasn’t much the help defense was in position to do when someone gets beat that badly one-on-one. (Points: 3 – Foye)

1st Q, 8:48 – 5 points (mid-range jumper)

Foye tried his best to chase Redd around a Bogut screen, but somebody needed to step up and help. Brendan Haywood did not help, he left too much space. (Points: 1.25 – Haywood, 0.75 – Foye)

1st Q, 6:46 – 8 points (transition three)

Foye got back in transition as Milwaukee/Ridnour pushed the ball (after a Wizards make). However, Foye got caught in paint, unaware of the trailing Redd. (Points: 3 – Foye)

1st Q, 5:05 – 13 points (drive And1)

Redd posted far to the left and Bucks cleared out. He took two dribbles to middle on Foye, spun away from Caron Butler’s help and jumped over the shorter Foye to hit a tough left-hander, and the foul. (Points: 3 – Foye)

2nd Q, 2:08 – 14 points (technical free-throw)

Defensive 3 seconds, Brendan Haywood. (Points: 1 – Haywood)

2nd Q, 1:29 – 16 points (2 free-throws)

Young got caught behind a pick just a bit (if Kurt Thomas was set completely, I don’t know) and Young did not beat Redd to the spot. Redd drove and got fouled. (Points: 2 – Young)

2nd Q, 0:49 – 18 points (2 free-throws)

Young was a tad slow to move his feet to cut off a Redd drive to the left (he turned down a pick). A ticky-tack call, but a call. Nick bumped him with the body. (Points: 2 – Young)

{conclusion}

When Nick Young was in the game, he did a better job defending Michael Redd, holding him to 22.2%, as opposed to the 50% allowed by Foye. In the fourth, Butler guarded Redd a lot because the Bucks featured a lineup of Brandon Jennings, Charlie Bell and Redd against a Boykins-Foye backcourt for the Wizards. And before Bell finished the game, the 6’4″ Jodie Meeks played. Redd is 6’6″ by the way.

It’s just a one-game sample, but from the other games I’ve seen, I believe Young to be the better overall defender than Foye. Nick is also two inches taller than Randy (6’6″ to 6’4″). This doesn’t mean that Foye shouldn’t start, if that begins to work for Flip Saunders. It just means that Young, given that his head stays in the game and focused, should get more than a fair chance to earn minutes.

Kyle founded TAI in 2007 and has been weaving in and out the world of Wizards ever since, ducking WittmanFaces, jumping over G-Wiz, and avoiding stints on the DNP-Conditioning list. He has covered the Washington pro basketball team as a member of the media since 2009. Kyle lives in D.C. with his wife, loves basketball, and has no pets.

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